There is, under no circumstances, a better party than WordCamp Europe. Since my first edition back in 2019 in Berlin, I have become an absolute fan, and the excitement it gives me is simply incredible.
It is a journey of emotions and existential madness with great international friendships. We see each other once a year celebrating this open-source ecosystem with shared values to keep growing the WordPress community, wherever it may be.
Day 1: Sightseeing and first hugs
It has not even been two weeks since a WordCamp (Portugal) and already, as every year, we had our travel bookings ready (for a year now). The original group and loyal friends I adore (Juan Hernando, Carlos Longarela, Jorge González), and this year we are joined from Galicia by: Daniel Pereyra (Charrúa, who has been hooked since the Basel edition), Carla Pumutxa and Marta Paz (first-timers at WordCamp Europe, who I am sure will become regulars).
A trip that includes our traditional road trip to Porto, with its direct flight to Kraków and, of course, meant meeting up with the wonderful Portugal community. On that Tuesday flight we ran into Carolina Osório and her husband, Samuel Silva, and Carlos Moreira.
Cracovia is the Spanish name for Kraków, one of Poland’s most important cities. The name likely comes from Krak, a legendary prince or founder of the city. According to tradition, Krak founded Kraków after defeating the famous Wawel Dragon, one of the city’s best-known legends.
Simply put: “Cracovia is the same as saying: the city of Krak.”
I had never been to Poland, so arriving a day early allowed us to do some sightseeing and visit the Wawel Castle, the famous dragon that breathes fire from time to time, and the Vistula River, which is called Wista in Polish.
It is the country’s most important river and it runs through the city, next to the castle, along the riverside—one of the most beautiful landscapes in the city—and also where the ICE Kraków was located, which would host our beloved WCEU.
Without a doubt, a wonderful setting. It is also worth highlighting other places shown in the photos that are well worth visiting, such as:
- Main Market Square — Rynek Główny: The heart of the Old Town. It is one of the largest medieval squares in Europe, with a lively atmosphere, terraces, horse-drawn carriages, street performers, and historic buildings such as the Cloth Hall. A great place to buy souvenirs.
- St. Mary’s Basilica: Located right on the square. It is famous for its two uneven towers and for the trumpet call, the hejnał, which sounds every hour from one of the towers.
- Wawel Hill: Royal Castle and Cathedral: As I mentioned, one of Poland’s most important places historically and culturally. Here you will find the Wawel Royal Castle, the Wawel Cathedral, and the area linked to the dragon legend.
- Kazimierz, the former Jewish quarter: One of the areas with the most character—synagogues, cafés, courtyards, urban art, bars, and a lot of Jewish history. Today it is also one of the liveliest neighbourhoods for walking and eating. That is where we stayed overnight.
It is worth noting that in this area around the Castle and the riverside, we discovered there was a Polish version of Japan’s Hachikō.
Dżok was a black mixed-breed dog whose owner suffered a fatal heart attack near Kraków’s Grunwaldzkie roundabout in 1990. When the ambulance took his owner away, the dog stayed there waiting for his return. For almost a year, he came back to the same spot every day, waiting in vain. The city’s residents gave him food and water, and his story became known throughout Poland.
As a result, there is a sculpture created by Polish sculptor Bronisław Chromy and unveiled in 2001. It depicts Dżok protected by enormous human hands. The hands symbolise care and affection between people and animals, while the dog extending a paw towards the visitor represents trust and loyalty.
The inscription on the base describes him as:
“The most faithful of the faithful, a symbol of canine loyalty”
I mention it because I found the sculpture moving, and I started digging to learn the story. It does not look like much in the photos, but there are offerings that show the sentimental value of the sculpture and the little dog’s story.
By the way, the night before, when we arrived, we had a delicious Polish dinner to try their specialties, and surprise! From the very first moment, when they offered us a vodka as an aperitif, I realised that they do not mess around here.
So the next day I was not surprised by what I saw in terms of socialising and parties, which we enjoy so much.
Starting with one I always look forward to and have attended for more than four editions: the Codeable dinner, where I am “Carlos’s wife”. Long story—this is how they know me in that circle 😉 just like Maripili in others, but it makes no sense to explain it in this post.
The Codeable dinner—an incredible place by the river—with the usual friends (Jorge, Carlos, Charles Cifuentes, Marcel Schmitz, Filipa Teixeira) and new people I met this year.
In addition, part of the team, led by the great Marcel from Portugal, organised some fantastic games that had never been done before. They assigned a number to each person and grouped us with questionnaires. A wonderful way to get to know each other better and create new synergies.
Afterwards they did a few more games, like guessing songs, musical chairs and dancing—although the last one did not go very well for me, as a competitive South African spirit almost knocked me out xD. But it is fine… We talked it through and sorted it out with an Aperol Spritz.
A wonderful party. I had a great time and felt I learned to speak Portuguese much better from the “funco de meu coração”. Filipa Teixeira and Clara were wonderful—I laughed with them until I almost fell off the table.
A conversation with Christopher Churchill, the kind that shakes the foundations of self-knowledge and what people are built on. Life topics, reflections on how to live, escaping the ego. Things that inspire me a lot. You find these deep conversations without even imagining they could happen in places like this.
Without a doubt, Christopher is one of the most interesting people you can meet at WCEU.
We ended up leaving the boat and doing competitions that were not very sensible at dawn by the riverbank. But it would not be a WCEU without some silliness like this.
A note about the organising team
I have been part of the organising team for 3 years. It is an honour and a privilege.
My first two years were on the community team, which I already know and understand how it operates. But this year I wanted a change and joined the sponsors team. I knew it meant much more work, greater commitment, and many more hours of dedication, so I was a bit scared by the responsibility.
Call me silly, but generating an invoice for more than €55,000 and not messing up any part of the process (emails, agreements, etc.) put a lot of pressure on me this year. I also want to thank Juan Hernando (from Central, not the Foundation) for stepping in to help me more than once; you are an absolute gem 🙂
Fortunately, I had an excellent leader, Lucas Radke. With a calm, steady attitude, he guided us at all times, forgave small mistakes, and it was very inspiring to be part of this group, together with: Maria Monastirioti (one of my favourite Greeks), Dani Leitner, who could not come due to her pregnancy (congratulations), Alex Osmichenko (our Polish teammate, a lovely guy and very professional), Kel Santiago-Pilarski, who I was very sorry could not make it at the last minute, and my colleague Delia Carballo, our beloved Malagueña, who next year will have a very different role, as I will mention later.
It was a very rewarding experience to have worked on this sponsors team.
It took me completely out of my comfort zone; I had fun, learned a great deal, and it has been an emotional whirlwind. I was lucky that with almost all the companies I worked with, communication was excellent, and I believe they were very happy with the whole process.
Please bear in mind that there are different levels of expectations here, and you cannot always please everyone. You do things with care, but goals are not always met, and learning to handle that is a lesson in itself.
I am very sorry for Fotis Routsis, my great friend and Greek leader of the community team, who told me:
— Fucking traitor! 😉
In an ironic tone for leaving the community team. But I am very happy, because this year that team did exemplary work; the booth has been wonderful, attracting many people and generating the spirit it was designed for.
So congratulations to my friends: Fotis, José Freitas, Josep Morán, Andrzej Piotrowski, Dennis Hipp, Laura Sacco, Marco Martins, for an excellent job.
In any case, on the sponsors team I found work that made me feel very fortunate. I really enjoyed the process, so I will do it again next year (if they accept me) on this team.
It is also a very special place for the entire Spanish community. But as I said, we will talk about that later.
Thank you to all the other teams I will mention throughout the article at different points. And in this case, to our lead organisers: Angelos Synadakis, Francesco Di Candia and especially Ivelina Dimova, who is the one I know best of the three. I think they did a great job, and you can see the care they put into coordinating all the groups.
Day 2: Contributor Day
One of my favourite days at any WordCamp. This year I decided not to apply as a WP TV table lead, which I have done for the last 2 years. I wanted to get to know and contribute to another team: WP Photos.
I ran into my good friend Nahuai Badiola, and we had Rita Robles from Costa Rica, who explained the process to us. Thank you very much, Rita.
We uploaded many photos, and that part was great. We were left wanting to learn more about how the photos team works internationally, what their future “plans” are, how to help beyond uploading photos, etc. But it was a pleasant day, helping many people as always, and with the excitement of the annual reunion.
Great food, and something that really stood out this edition was, without a doubt, the work of the design team, led by our dear friend Ohia.
Although you are originally North American, I am sorry, Ohia, but to me you are more Spanish than tortilla. Her team, made up of Eleonora Anzini, Elsa Tapia, Juan Verdera, Murtaza Asghar Ali, Sathwik Prabhu Alake, Sophie Porte and Zuzanna Miśniakiewicz, did exquisite work. The concept and the whole space—the T-shirts, the tablecloths in a certain food area, everything—was simply sublime.
Those designs for all the signage, the sponsor thank-you visuals—it is simply a work of art to me. I am grateful to have 3 T-shirts from this edition because they achieve something beautiful (which, for me, is art): impact.
There was no one who did not say something about this year’s design and the visual and emotional impact it had.
Thank you, Ohia, and your entire team for this work. It is clear you put in many hours and, above all, a lot of love ❤️.
On Contributor Day we already started tasting the food. Exquisite. I was pleasantly surprised by everything they provided at the event.
Impressive statistics, as every year, from this great day of contribution to the project:
- 778 Contributor Day participants
- 23 teams
- 35 table leads
And of course, at the end of the day, we started the parties and dinners. With the social dinner, the famous dinner for organisers, sponsors, and volunteers.
It was held in a very unusual place near the event, with arcade rooms, karaoke, bowling, and air hockey. Very original—everything was great fun.
I was really looking forward to seeing how Marta, my +1 at the event dinner, would do. Marta had never been before, and let us say I played a “little prank” on her about coming in costume.
Do not judge me too harshly! If you know Marta, you will understand why I did it; I am close with her and I knew she would have a great time with the experience.
We stopped the prank when we could see there was no turning back (thank you, Carla!). She got revenge afterwards at bowling, where she destroyed me. And although she says otherwise, she loved the whole thing; she is an old-school communist full of wonderful energy who loves a bit of action 😉
Lots of laughs. I love hearing Uros Tasic speaking Spanish (he is from Serbia); apologies for my mistake with the guests from a sponsoring company xD. It was a joy to laugh with Remkus de Vries, a big, friendly guy—just like his height—shared prizes, tokens, and of course, another night with little sleep.
Day 3: First day of talks
As I always say about these events, the talks are the heart and the excuse, but it is also true that if you are a veteran, experience tells me we usually attend only a few. Most of the time is spent networking in the corridors.
My sponsors team’s work is more intense before the event, but we had to handle a few matters throughout the days, which meant I had to be there very early.
The first talk, after the opening: incredible—the whole Drupal-to-WordPress migration process, with CERN’s complexity and all the development needs.
Joachim Valdemar and Francisco Borges gave us an incredible talk titled: “Two worlds collide: WordPress at CERN”, which ended with the great news that they will release the migration tool they built as open source to share with society. Something that lifted hearts in the auditorium.
I did not go into another talk until it was my good friend and developer Fellyph Cintra’s turn, with a wonderful talk about what is new in Playground. In my view, one of the best tools developed in WP. Useful, simple, and fun.
Wearing a very striking Brazil T-shirt that reminds us of this great character’s origins. You can see it in this photo by Atsushi Ando:
I hope to see you in Galicia, my friend—you will always have a home here.
I could not attend the workshop by David Pérez and Fran Torres from our Spain community, where they talked about submitting plugins to the directory.
But I was able to attend a talk I was really excited about when I saw it on the schedule: Emma Young, one of the kindest and most caring people at the whole WordCamp. Emma works for Hostinger, but I have mentioned her (and her husband Ray) on other occasions on my blog.
She gave a fantastic talk on “AI Search: why your whole company should care”, with great tips and reflections on Google’s changes and the importance of brand mentions within AI. Very relevant and present in the SEO world.
I stayed for the next panel, precisely about the future of SEO, featuring: Kacper Bartoszak, Pam Aungst Cronin, Alex Moss, David Cuesta from our beloved Galicia and organiser of the Santiago group, and Jovana Smoljanovic Tucakov.
It was interesting to see the opinions of other professionals and colleagues about the future of SEO.
At the end of the day, I could not even go to rest; I went straight to the fourth? party of the trip: the famous Hostinger dinner.
I have a special fondness for the Hostinger team; I have mentioned it in other articles. Emma and Gusté seem like exceptional young women to me. I think that company is VERY lucky to have them on their team. Thank you for this lovely invitation.
They took us to a place on the outskirts of Kraków, the famous Wieliczka Salt Mine, one of the most surprising places in all of Poland, according to the guides I had read before the trip. They took us on an official tour by bus from the venue.
These are salt mines that created deep caverns, with an entire world beneath the ground:
- Chapels.
- Sculptures.
- Underground lakes.
- Giant halls.
- Historical bas-reliefs.
All of it carved or sculpted in salt. That is why many people call it the “underground salt cathedral”.
During the Middle Ages, salt was known as white gold. It was used to preserve food and was a strategic resource.
The mine began operating in the 13th century and for centuries was one of the main sources of wealth for the Kingdom of Poland. It is one of the oldest salt mines in Europe, with more than 700 years of history.
It was also one of the first sites added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1978.
I was blown away by the place—and the best part? We ended the guided route at an underground restaurant with SPECTACULAR food. You already know I love good food, and I define my trips by this: local cuisine.
Delicious—and because it was a smaller event, it allowed me to meet (more calmly) some very interesting people. One I especially want to highlight: Ivana Ćirković. She struck me as a very special person, from Serbia, who also knew a few words in Spanish because she used to watch Venezuelan soap operas (¡Kassandra!—my mind almost exploded).
Ivana was without a doubt my discovery of this WCEU. A marketing strategist (currently at WP Bakery) with more than 18 years of experience. I loved the conversations we had at the table—her, Gusté, Emma, my colleague David, and Ivana’s colleague, whom I met in Portugal, Raitis Sevelis, Head of Product for the famous WPBakery plugin.
After leaving that special place, they took us by bus straight (with music on the way) to the famous Glow Party by Yoast and Bluehost. It is without a doubt one of the most fun events at WCEU.
From that last party, fortunately, I have no photos. I am careful enough not to use technology in these spaces. It was wonderful to share with so many special people from the communities of Spain, Portugal, Greece, France, Serbia, Italy, etc.
Day 4: Third and last day + Afterparty
After 4–5 days of partying, the body feels heavy. I cannot make it first thing like yesterday. How old I am, carallo! It gets harder every time—or does it? Not at all… I have many more WCEUs in me; nothing an ibuprofen cannot help fix.
I arrived straight to Ivana’s talk: “What it (really) means to be a part of the WP Credits program?”. Very moving, with the presence at the end of her talk of a student who benefited from this credits programme and the boost the WP community is giving to connecting with educational institutions.
I also attended the panel: “Panel: rethinking learning in WordPress”. An interesting conversation between Mary Hubbard, Rade Jekic, Klaus Harris, Natalia Basiura and Benjamin Zekavica.
I am very interested in the role WP is playing within education systems. Teaching is something vocational that I enjoy, and seeing ways we can add more value to students and, in turn, improve the ecosystem, seems like a very beautiful path to follow.
A lot of corridor networking with the wonderful sponsors who make this possible. Also, in my role on that team, I liked approaching the people I had been emailing with for months, meeting them in person, helping them with whatever was possible, or even handling any kind of issue that can always arise at such a large event with so many moving parts.
After lunch I wanted to see Samuel Silva, a friend from the Portuguese community, who was giving a security talk: “The hidden DDoS threat in WordPress: abusing the search endpoint”, but it overlapped with the workshop by our friend Fernando Tellado: “Do you really need an SEO/GEO plugin for WordPress?”.
The workshops required prior registration, and Fernando’s proposal seemed very interesting to me. It was a workshop—longer than a talk—and the concept of applying a series of code snippets to improve our website’s SEO without needing an SEO plugin seemed very smart. So, as always, I enjoyed this man’s wisdom.
As the day was ending, I went into the auditorium to enjoy Jonathan Desrosiers’ talk: “The fight for the open web is a lie”, and then the conversation and debate between Matías Ventura, Mary Hubbard and Rich Tabor. Matt Mullenweg could not attend for personal reasons; he was missed in the usual debate and closing of WCEU.
And with the closing, one of the most beautiful things: revealing who the next leads will be and the destination city for the next WCEU.
It is a very emotional moment, and although for obvious reasons I already knew it, the video moment—made by my wonderful friend Fede Padilla—gives you goosebumps. I will leave it here:
The Spanish community was ecstatic, as expected, because the next edition will be in Málaga. It is the first time the country repeats, and the excitement was palpable in the air.
What a great honour! 2027 will be very interesting, that is for sure. 😉
It made me very happy to see Emma Wager, Lucas Radke and Nilo Vélez. I do not know Emma as well, but she conveys a lot of calm, just like Lucas, and I was delighted that he was chosen for that role. I am sure he will be a wonderful leader.
And in Nilo’s case, I have spoken so much about this force of nature that there is nothing more to add. But he was very emotional at the closing moment. No wonder. It is a great honour. And he deserves it.
The WP community, both in Spain and internationally, owes a lot to this force of nature. So I am sure they will give us a wonderful WCEU in 2027.
Just when you think nothing can surprise you, they take us to a place for dinner and an afterparty that blew my mind. A huge complex with different spaces, food stations, a karaoke area, live music, DJs, a terrace area…
The afterparty always helps you release tension, enjoy the success of the event, and laugh A LOT.
NOTE for those who were at the event: the whole shark situation was Nilo and Paula Carmona’s fault. I am easily convinced, I admit it. It was fun, although very hot. I have no photos that prove any of this 😉
I would love to mention everyone I hugged, laughed with, and talked to… It is impossible. There are too many of us. Just so it is clear, here are the stats they shared at the closing:
- 2,458 tickets sold
- 81 countries represented
- More than 60 speakers
- 8 workshops
And an international community coming together to celebrate the greatness of this ecosystem. Here are a few photos from the event’s official album that blew me away:
A big hug, as always, to Agathe Medvedieff, Rocio Valdivia, Alice Castelejo, Amadeu Arderiu, Alvaro Gómez, Ana Cirujano, Angel Zinsel, Celi Garoe, David Cuesta, Elsa Tapia, Elli Mouchtari, Estela Rueda.
Esther de Cozar, one of my favourite people, who I enjoy talking to so much ❤️.
Fernando García Rebolledo, Gustavo Galati, Héctor de Prada and Reyes Martínez, from the phenomenal Spanish company Modular DS, who also gave me some spectacular cecina from León! ❤️ Thank you for that lovely gesture.
Isotta Peira, one of the funniest and kindest faces at WCEU. Iván López, Javi Guembe, Moncho and Chus (Ourense is not that bad!), Juan Manuel Rodríguez, JuanMa Garrido, Samah Nasr, and the great Julio de la Iglesia, who did an incredible job editing all the WCEU videos in record time.
Karolina Vyskocilova, Kasia Janoska (the podcast idea was brilliant), my wonderful friend from Valencia: Lena Inurrieta, friends from Costa Rica such as the lovely Lidia Arroyo Vargas, Lidia Marban, Maciej (Matt) Pilarski, Maite González, Marcel Tannich, Marco Almeida, Marco Chiesi, Maria Hormaetxea, and Paulo Carvajal (I promise I will try the tool soon, my friend). To the local team, thank you very much for the lovely gift you gave us; I would like to mention Michał Strześniewski, who was the one who gave it to me. Thank you.
Miguel Ángel Terrón (Materrón), WCEU was better with you there, my friend. Never stop keeping your spirits up. I have laughed with you more than I ever thought possible. Mónica Pérez, Nemanja Cimbaljevic, Nizar Ashqar, Patricia BT, Raul Pina, Roberto Vazquez (Weiko), this time we could not have controversial debates, but WCEU would not be the same without your irony and photographs.
Rúben Martins, it was such a joy to see you, my friend, with your family. We were convincing in Portugal! Ruth Kalinka, Sjoerd Blom, Steve Mosby (what a great job this man did). Toze Vasconcelos, Valérie Galassi, Violeta Bru, Vanesa Gómez del Rio, so beautiful, intelligent, and an example in so many ways. I love talking with Vanesa whenever I can. Verónica Couso (our forever volunteer, a Sevillian adopted by Galicia). Wendie Huis in ‘t Veld, Yordan Soares, among so, so many people.
NOTE: I did not do scraping to get this list of links and people; I put it together manually, like in the old days 😉
Thank you for these wonderful days. Thank you for working to bring us together every year and celebrate together the values that unite us. See you in Málaga.
Long life and prosperity to WordPress!
